Family Is Forever
by LifeInTheGrey
Summary: Eshima was just a girl from District 80. She knew only gore, loss and agony. They swoop her up into their lifestyle. Will she accept this new status she has been given or continue down the path that will lead her own demise?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything besides the few original works I may include in the future.

 **Summary:** Eshima was just a girl from District 80. She knew only gore, loss and agony. They swoop her up into their lifestyle. Will she accept this new status she has been given or continue down the path that will lead her own demise?

 **WARNING:** May have triggers

 **"Family Is Forever"**

 **Chapter 1 "Grace"**

Three small forms laid on the cold damp ground. The largest of the free was in the middle while the two smaller ones huddled around looking for enough warmth to survive the night. It had been quite a bit chillier for them since their fourth member had died a few months ago. The smallest had a ragtag yellow blanket over her with a few stray ringlets sticking up and ankles hanging out the other end. On the other side topaz eyes starred up at rotten beams above.

 _Two pairs of large arms wrapped around her tiny frame. An eardrum shattering scream escaped her. Her skin was on fire, like she was being burned alive. She shut her eyes tightly closed. When she opened her eyes what remained of teenage boy and middle-aged man that had shielded her was a heap of clothes. She fell to her knees as all the life around her vanished into thin air. She gasped for air as if it was being sucked right out of her lungs. The air was heavy like it was going to crush her and so thick a knife couldn't cut thru it. Her jelly legs had enough strength to stand upright and took off. Her foot slipped under a root. Her head smacked against the ground and she blacked out. She saw a glimpse of a black robe and an eerie feeling. Like something wasn't quite right. Large amount of Reiatsu had vanished. Several Shinigami with masks, hallow masks, fighting. Her eyes flicked open. The stars and the grass swirled around until it was all a blur. A strange man in a black coat and unfamiliar voices. Soul reapers with masks. Hallow masks. What was going on?_

The small child could not wrap her head around what had she had witnessed in the forest…how along ago was it now? It felt like yesterday. Her eyes were bloodshot from a lack of sleep. Sleeping since then was so difficult. Suddenly the air was being sucked out of her lungs, just like that night. The air was so heavy it felt like it was crushing her chest again. She couldn't breathe. She coughed and gasped. The air felt bad, it felt evil. Like it was reaching out to strangle her. She felt like her blood was ice. She knew it hadn't been those masks giving her the heebie-jeebies. Her eyes fluttered shut as her entire body went limp. Her mind started to drift back to a few days ago when Kiminobu went missing.

 _A young boy with sandy hair grinning like a Cheshire cat. His green eyes like the first blades of grass after snow had melted. There was a bounce to his gait. He had a spark to him. A spark that could make the coldest of nights warm._

 _Mangled limbs. There was nothing in his eyes. So much blood. It was everywhere. Tiny arms wrapping around his chest begging, pleading. But the spark was gone along with his life. Her hand slipped into his pocket pulling out the small dagger, she knew he would have hated the idea of her using it but just didn't have him anymore to protect her. She had to protect herself and to do that she needed a weapon. A deep guttural growl her eyes became tennis balls. It would have been the end of her, but a flash of a black uniform form the corner of her eye. She never saw their face._

Tears streamed down her face. She missed her brother. They were two of kind, made from the same cloth. They were supposed to be together, forever. Time to time she'd watch the doorway at sunset expecting him to come walking in. He never did. His voice so distant now as the memory started to fade. Not a sound escaped her lips. She would not be weak. She was strong. She was brave. She would not cry. Crying is weakness and weakness is death. Her eyes flickered open for a few minutes. She shivered not feeling any heat around her. The glimmer of the full moon was eclipsed by darkness as a dreamless slumber engulfed her mind once again.

Golden beams dance between the beams inched across the dirt. It tried to peal open her eyes. She rolled over burying her head in her arms. It traced against the skin penetrating her dark little hole too. It would not win! She squeezed her eyes shut. Her hand flayed around in the air smacking into the dirt. Her eyes shot open and she rolled onto her back rubbing her hand. It took a moment for it to register. She looked next to her and no one was there besides the shredded pieces of yellow cloth. Rubbing her fingers across her eyes digging the shard of gunk out of her eyes. She blinked a few times.

"Rie…Sumiye!"

A grain of rice could have dropped and she would have heard it. Her friends, no her sisters, were gone. She couldn't see them anywhere. She felt a pitiful wisp of purple Reiatsu. Rie. Where was it coming from? Her eyes drifted up towards the beams. Her body turned to stone her eyes frozen at the size of a tennis ball. A blood droplet pooled right in front of her left big toe. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. But nothing came out. She hung her head high and stepped outside of the hut. There was nothing here for her anymore. She set off in the early morning light to the unknown of the future.

Drunks sat in dark alleys hiccupping and muttering to themselves. A few souls laid on the sidewalk, possible asleep or maybe dead. The piercing wail of a starving infant cut thru the morning breeze. Livid voices. A blood curdling scream. The crying stopped. One foot in front of the other she kept walking. She had been walking for days. She wasn't even sure what district this was.

Every step felt like fifty. It took all she had not to allow her quivering legs to give out. Her arms hung limply at her side. Her eyes were dark and droopy. Her feet kept on moving one step at a time towards an unknown goal. No friends. No family. No money. She had nothing. She was nothing. That look of disgust as if she was just a mere piece of trash proved her worth to herself. They all looked her the same clenching their belongings tightly. She just kept on lugging alone. Either she would die or someone would eventually take pity on her.

Smooth dark brown oozed between her toes. Her eyes too tired to really admire or pay notice to the trees around her. She had stumbled into a forest. Pebbles were mountains, sticks were trees, and moss was grass. Ever obstacle made her stumble. A miniscule pebble sent her body tumbling forward. Her arms failed her. She laid face down in the dirt path. Darkness had nearly completely engulfed her when she felt strong arms lifting her she caught a glimpse of spike black hair before she could no longer struggle against the darkness.

 _Rei's long caramel hair flowed in the warm breeze. She smiled brightly as she chased after Sumiye, a petite girl with fizzy puffball black hair. Sumiye turned back looking at her other friend and shook her head pointing towards a door in the middle of the meadow. Rei rolled her eyes pushing the other girl towards the door. "Go back Eshima, it's not your time. We will meet again, someday," Rei said to the younger girl. "I don't want to go back! Please! I don't want to be alone!" Sumiye anxiously twirled her hair before she said "You won't be alone. Trust me. Even when you think you are we are always in your heart."_

"You go out for a walk and you bring back a girl! What is wrong with you?"

He just smiled at his sister. The limp tiny form on the futon laid motionless even while his sister was shouting. Poor kid. Since the moment he saw her in the middle of the path he could feel the sadness in her heart it seem to poor out of her. No kid should be so sad. His eyes looked softly towards her.

"Look at this way, Ganju has a new playmate," he said with a grin.

"That's what you said about that damn boar piglet, that eats fucking everything!"

"Will you stop shouting? What would have mom and dad said if I had left her there to die when I could have done something about it? It's not like we can't afford to fed another person and we have plenty of room."

"Fine she can stay."

"You never really had a say in the matter."

"Sometimes I hate you."

"Yeah-yeah. I'm the worse big brother ever. You tell me that every day."

A growl only a teenage girl can manage to make roared outside in the hallway. He just shook his head. He knew she loved him and that she knew that he loved her, teenagers were just…teenagers. He looked at the feeble slight girl before him. No child should be this thin. She was lighter than a feather to carry here.

Knock. Knock. "Brother I got the blanket you asked for," said a young boy peeking around the door. The older boy smiled at him. After all what brother wouldn't be proud of his little brother so willing to help out.

"Bring it her then," he said. The boy scurried over holding out the blanket. The older boy took and tossed it over the young girl before tucking it tightly behind her. It would keep her warm and slow her down from escaping. He knew the girl would be frightened when she awoke and in her state she wouldn't last long on her own.

"Who is she?" asked the boy.

"She is family now that is all the matters. She is your sister wither she wants to be or not. Do you think you can look out for her?" he asked ruffling the boy's hair.

"Of-of course I can. But don't girls have cooties," said the boy.

"Family doesn't have cooties," he chuckled.

"How-how do I look out for her?" the boy asked.

"You do the best you can," he said "no go off to bed. She isn't going anywhere."

The boy scurried down the hall. The teenage boy secured the window making sure she wasn't going to be able to attempt to escape from it. He knew the first reflex of a street kid was to flee and the second was to fight. As weak as she was she wouldn't last three days on her own. There was a heavy black cloud looming over the girl and he was determined to chase it away.

"Welcome to the Shiba family kid. You're stuck with us whether you want us or not," he said shutting the door behind him. He nodded at the guard he had asked to watch the room not that the girl was going anywhere even if she did manage to stand up and walk.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thank you for reading. This is replacing 'Two of a Kind'. Don't worry Hiroko is making an appearance. Let me know if you like it or not. I hope to have chapter two done and edited soon.

 **Update 3/24** : Uploaded the wrong draft, sorry about that

 **Update 3/29:** I fixed a few plot holes and spelling mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything besides the few original works I include. **  
Claimer:** Please don't take any original works I may add into a story.

" **Family Is Forever"**

 **Chapter 2 "Fireflies and Fireworks"**

Shattering glass jarred the teenage boy awake. He heard guards stampeding down the hallway. He blinked away the fuzzy haze that fogged his vision. He slipped on his slippers and grabbed his scarlet haori, the birthday note from his father still tucked inside the pocket. He stepped out into the hallway seeing that his younger sister and brother had also been woken up.

"What is goin' on?" grumbled the young boy.

"Go back to bed Ganju," said his sister.

The boy grumbled and moaned as he rubbed his eyes. He walked into the wall twice before making it to the door. The older boy shook his head. The kid was truly hopeless at times. He rubbed his neck partially awake.

"This is the seventh time this week. When are you just going to let her go," said the young teenage girl.

"Kūkaku, go back to bed."

"Who are you to order me around?"

"Your older brother, not to mention the head of this clan."

"You always pull that line."

The door raddled shut. He rolled his eyes. _Teenagers. Was I ever this annoying to our parents?_ He shuffled down the hallway. He stepped over the gigantic logs in the middle of the hallway known as Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko. He took a quick detour down the hall grabbing a bucket of water and dumping it on the heads of the two guards.

"How hard is it to watch one girl?"

"She used flash step," whined Koganehiko.

"And she is stronger than she looks," added Shiroganehiko.

"She is the size of a six-year-old and you cannot handle her. How the hell did Kūkaku survive childhood?"

"She couldn't use flash step," muttered Koganehiko under his breath. His partner narrowed his eyes at him.

"Her spiritual pressure is advanced for her age. It was likely how she survived so long on the streets. I would never consider this, but in this case maybe putting a seal on her spiritual pressure would help her."

"Shiba-tono that is too dangerous!"

"The girl might get hurt! You might get hurt!"

"Then what should I do?"

"Training worked with Shiba-denka."

"She isn't Kūkaku."

"Shiba-tono there is still a possibility it will work."

"Stop calling me that. You are making me feel old."

Kaien huffed as he continued down the hallway. She was a little girl it makes no sense how two grown guards could get their asses beat by her. _Unless she is using_ _reiatsu._ He frowned slightly as the gears in his head started to turn away with the different ways that she was managing to escape every single night breaking through his kido, given he has never had official training with it. _The best way to find out if her reiatsu is actually manifesting and that she is actually using flash step is to pair her up against Kūkaku for training._ That would give him enough information to contact a healer to try to figure out how to actually heal her. Every time they had her strong enough to run around and play the next day she would be back in comatose again.

After thirty minutes and six guards they caught her dragging her back into the room. The girl dragged her feet and swung her arms around trying to break free. The guards hesitated shoving the girl into the room. After all they could snap her in a half like a twig in just a mindless second. Kaien jumped in before she managed to get away again. Restraining her wasn't much of a battle. She never saw him coming. She struggled against him but he managed to get her though the door and shut the door locking it up again. He rubbed his neck frowning slightly. Okay…locking her up in her room seemed a bit unnecessary and rather cruel and that he ought to just let her go, but the fact was they still hadn't found a way to completely heal her.

"Go back to your posts. I'm going to be keeping an eye on her."

The six guards took off in separate directions. The locks clattered on the other side of door. Holding his hands out he put another barrier around the door to keep her in, this time focusing on the locks. Maybe he ought to change the locks, she must be picking them. He kept one eye at the ready in case she managed to break free again, but she didn't.

* * *

The air was heavy and sticky like maple syrup left out in the windowsill on a sunny day. The sun glared down with intense intention. It was silent, even the birds were lazing about in the heat. The only one that seemed to be full of energy was Eshima. After spending three days in a comatose she was ready to rumble. Constantly on Kūkaku's heels poking and prodding everything she could reach. Kūkaku eye twitched and her lip quivered. It was so tempting just to slap the back of the girl's head. She wasn't going to try it to find out, after all the kid seems to make fools out of the guards every other night. As soon as the door had been slide open just far enough Eshima darted out into the courtyard where there were several tables of sharp, blunt, and deadly objects of varying age and size. Kūkaku swatted Eshima's hand away from them before she touched anything. The girl stuck out her tongue touching a throwing star with a finger looking Kūkaku straight in the eye.

"Don't touch anything."

"You're boring."

"Do you value your life?"

"Whatever."

Kūkaku rubbed the bridge of her nose as Eshima picked up a pale staff swing it around. Kūkaku grabbed it with her good hand before it smacked her square in the head. She pulled it away while Eshima tried jumping up to reach it.

"What is this that thing?" asked Eshima.

"That's a Bō and it is not a toy so don't swing it around like a bat," retorted Kūkaku rolling her eyes.

"Your eyes are going to get stuck like that."

"For a kid you are really annoying."

"For a teenager you are really bossy."

"You are going to regret that. I'm the one in charge of training you."

"Oh I'm soooo scared now."

A long giant yawn while words buzzed right over Eshima's head. What did they take her for? A fool. Seriously she had managed to steal some of these out of the hands of their wielders before and others escape certain death from. _When where are we actually going to do traning? That girl…_ _Kūkaku, yeah that's it, talks way too much._ She began to eye the weapons until a sword caught her eye. She ran a hand over the black handle her fingers feeling the ridges between the slightly dulled red ribbons. The blade was twice the size of her arms. _How heavy is this thing?_ Bending over to its level her eyes took in every single detail it could about the blade. Every single nick or scratch in the metal was blatantly obvious to her. _Wait for it. Wait for it. Go!_ She wrapped her tiny hands around the handle pulling it off the table. She stumbled forward barely managing to catch her footing before she fell flat on the face. _It is heavier than it looks._ Her arms were like jelly from being sick so much. They struggled to lift the sword up when just a few weeks ago she was able to lift Sumiye, whom had been only a year younger than her and had at least ten pounds on Eshima. A gasp slipped out despite her best effort to keep quite. A surge of energy pulsed around her igniting her skin and making her hair stand on end. _What was going on?_

"Did you hear me say don't pick anything up!"

Whips of teal ignited into a roaring flame around. For a split second the reflection of the flame glimmered into her eyes as the narrowed into slants. Without a thought her arms lifted the sword up and her feet took a stance before charging. Sparks shot off as metal clashed. Red surrounded Kūkaku as she held up her sword deflecting the attack. The teenager tried to look into the somewhat innocent sea blueish green eyes and found deep ocean blue marbles glaring back at her. Clang! The sweat trickling down Kūkaku made the red around her spike suddenly knocking the young girl back making her do a backwards summersault. The sword clanged on the ground several feet in front of her. Kūkaku picked it back up putting back on the table letting the girl sit there on the ground catching her breath. If she was breathing she was fine.

"Impressive reiatsu. You lack focus and stamina. That may work for basic survival. The strongest and fastest wins, but if you are in a drawn out fight, you'd lose."

"My what?"

"Reiatsu, it's the manifested form of your reiryoku."

"Reir-what?"

"Reiryoku is your spiritual power."

"Why does this whatever-you-call-them even matter?"

"Don't you know anything?"

"I never gone to any school. So I guess not."

Eshima's eyes calm as the gentle sea breeze. She starred at the soil under her hands and she pulled herself to sit up. She looked down as if she was analyzing every single tiny particle. She rubbed her writs. Heat was pricking in her cheeks.

"I didn't mean it like that kid. Look we'll teach you what you need to know," said Kūkaku pulling Eshima up by the collar of her kimono. She brushed the dirt of the girl.

"I have a name you know."

"How am I supposed to call you it if you haven't told us it?"

"It's Eshima."

"No surname?"

"I don't think so, I've only been called Eshima."

"Well, kid you have one now. You're one of us now."

Kūkaku ruffled fluffy sandy hair chuckling softly. Eshima rolled her eyes upward. A grin slipped pass Eshima's lips as she wrapped her small arms around the teen's waist. The teen pulled back slightly but smiled softly at the young girl patting her head. Kūkaku looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. The girl quickly let go starting to play with the other weapons.

"Stop touching things. Did you just learn nothing?"

"I learned that they are fun."

"Eshima these aren't toys they are weapons."

"No really, I thought they were eating utensils. Surely you mustn't think I lived in some fancy place with a bunch of guards around. I know they aren't toys."

"For a kid that has never been to school you are quite a smart ass."

"I don't need schooling to know weapons.

"Oh really, then please tell me more," said Kūkaku putting a hand on hip.

"That is a tekkan, it's used to strike an opponent's armor."

"Continue."

"That is a war fan."

"What type of war fan?"

"Tessen?"

"No, gunsen."

"That is Manriki-Kusari, right?"

"That would right."

"Why is there a bow in here?"

"Archery is much older than even the katana. The bow you see is called yumu."

"It's huge."

"I guess it is compared to you. It is nearly your height!"

"It looks like pain to lug around."

"Not too bad, Eshima. Let's take a quick tour of the Shiba clan armory."

The small brown building could be mistaken for just a garden shack besides the crimson red roof and deep green crests painted on the sides. After unlocking the door in six constitutive locks the door swung open. The two girls slipped their shoes off putting on slippers. Eshima glided behind Kūkaku skidding across the floor. She tripped over a small step putting her hands in front of her face to protect her head, but Kūkaku caught her by the collar of her kimono once again.

"If you keep running around like a fool you are going to fall on your ass or hit your head."

Only a few seconds later did Eshima start sliding across the floor again. This time Kūkaku let her collide with the wall. She ignored the young girl seeing her look at her from the corner of her eye, but given she didn't get a reaction she got up like nothing had happened.

"Here are some fire arrows and bohiyas. As you see the Shiba clan is known for fireworks and anything really do with the elements. Lots of dangerous weapons we have to keep an eye on. You don't want this falling into the wrong hands. Some of this stuff can cause a lot of damage."

"What is that?"

"That is a very special cannon. Maybe one day Kaien will explain it to you, but for now don't worry about it. We'll tell you when you need to know about it."

"Why do you call your brother by his name and not niichan?"

"I've never been good with titles to be honest and he never asks for it."

"Oh okay."

"And Eshima he is not only my brother but yours."

A feather could have dropped in the armory and it would have sounded like fireworks were going off in the room. Even the sound of a breath was muffled. Kūkaku made the first move with Eshima fallowing closely behind like a puppy. Releasing Eshima to go find Ganju to harass Kūkaku.

The sun was just starting to fall below the horizon. Pastel pink, orange, and purple stroked along the warm golden rays. The breeze blew gently thru the courtyard. Ganju and Eshima chased after each other with the sticks they were supposed to be roasting the western gooey white treat called a marshmallow. Ganju had eaten three of his own plus Eshima's two. Eshima had ate one of them and refused to eat the rest of hers. Kūkaku didn't blame her, they were so sweet they were disgusting. By the time Kaien had joined them Ganju and Eshima had tossed aside their somewhat deadly blunt toys to try to catch lighting bugs. Eshima shrieked when Ganju dumped a handful of the bugs down her kimono. A few of the guards trotted over then back after seeing Kūkaku. Eshima raced after Ganju as he ran away yelping for help.

"They seem to be getting along," said Kaien picking up a vaguely warm marshmallow.

"Ganju is lucky we took away those daggers she had on her when she first got here."

"So how did Eshima due with her first lesson?"

"The girl doesn't have a whole lot of patience when it comes to listening though I think she knew more then what I was giving her credit for. She got bored and we ended up having a bit of a sparring session. Her reiatsu is stronger and more advanced than what we thought it was. It has already began to manifest given her reaction to it, it seemed like the first time it happened."

"Anything else?"

"Her name is Eshima. The girl has a lot of street smarts, however she told me she's never been to a school. I doubt she can read or write. She has to be from one of the less desirable districts. She has a natural instinct to fight and knows a quite a bit about weapons."

"She had collapsed between district thirty and twenty-nine, but who knows how far she had traveled."

"She's a pretty good kid, but her soul seems a bit lost you know what I mean. It seems weighed down almost."

"It's guilt. I'm not sure what she feels guilty about, but given the state I found her in possible the death of a friend…or family member. Kids aren't usually brave enough to wonder into other districts let alone do it alone, that's is all I am saying."

"Did you find anything out about her?"

"If you mean did I find out if she had family, no I didn't. I don't even have the slightest idea where she was from. But she seems in no rush to leave nor has she mentioned family. Either they don't care about her or she doesn't have any."

"Were there any healers that would helpful?"

"No, I might have to go into the Seireitei to find someone who can give us insight into how we can help learn to control her reiatsu before it becomes dangerous. The Shinigami might be the only ones that may have any answers."

"Or is that an excuse to visit there again?"

"Whether is or isn't important."

"You should be careful you don't want them trying to get us to enroll her in that academy."

"I've seen kids younger than her as Shinigami. She isn't even going to be with me. She has a long ways to go before I'd even let her consider it, but if the time comes that she wants to don't try to stop her. If she chooses to go that route she'll do it with or without your permission."

"That sounds like you are projecting your own ideals there."

"It sounds like you are projecting your own judgments before she even has the chance to make her own."

A short huff as she blew a few strands of hair that had fallen in her face out of the way. She pulled angrily at it. She rolled her eyes at her brother who was flashing her that stupid grin of his. So insufferable.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face it makes you look like a dork."

"Aww, come on can't a guy smile once in a while."

"Whatever."

"I know you don't trust them, but do you trust my judgment?"

"Of course I do. But…"

"I know, I know. It's not even common knowledge we adopted her into our family. Let me worry about that stuff, I'm the clan head after all."

Eshima was sitting onto of Ganju, whom she had tackled to the ground. Ganju was slowly inching along the ground trying to get away. He was managing to move a bit, but Eshima was still on top of him. After a few minutes Eshima got bored of it and ran off to chase the flickering bugs. Ganju cowered behind Kaien eying Eshima expecting her to tackle him again. Kūkaku slapped the back of the boy's head playfully for being such a wuss. Kaien took advantage of the moment to tickling the young boy before he managed to squirm away holding his sides as he gasped for air. His older siblings roared with laughter at the young boy, they couldn't help but not to laugh at his dramatic antics.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Finally this chapter is done after going through several drastically different drafts. It was fun writing it to say the least and I hope you all enjoy reading it. I hoep the progression isn't too slow, but it will pick up next chapter. Please let me know your thoughts on things. I have updated chapter one fixing the minor mistakes brought to be attention a few days ago.


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